Cleansing of the Sanctuary

Notes

Side texts: Ex. 30:10.

Notes

Side texts: Lev. 16:6, 33, 34.

Notes

Side texts: Eze. 45:18-20.

Notes

Side texts: Rev. 20:2-3.

Notes

Read "Great Controversy," chapter 23; "Looking unto Jesus," chapters 30, 31.

1. Each year's service in the earthly sanctuary was a type of the whole work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary.

2. The scapegoat could not typify Christ, because only one lot was for the Lord. The Hebrew word for "scapegoat," as given in the margin, is "Azazel." The Syriac has "Azzail," "the angel (strong one) who revolted."

3. This was to be a day of atonement, or "at-one-ment," as representing the time when God's people shall be fully made one with Him. "Now a mediator is not a mediator of one" (Gal. 3:20), so when God's people have all been made one with Him, they will no longer need a mediator. Christ will have finished His work as priest. Atonement was to be made for all the sins of Israel. Lev. 16:34. No more sins will, therefore, be committed by any of them after the day represented by the day of atonement is over. "It shall be an holy convocation." Then, in the antitypical day of atonement, they that feared the Lord spake often one to another. "Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together; . . . but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching." "Ye shall afflict your souls." So now we are exhorted to "repent, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." This day of atonement is the time of the blotting out of sins. Every sin then must be confessed. "And offer an offering made by fire." This offering made by fire was the burnt-offering, which represented consecration. "Ye shall do no manner of work therein, for it is a day of atonement." "It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest." So in the antitype we must cease wholly from our own works of the flesh. "For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works as God did from His." Heb. 4:10. Our own works are works of sin. Gal. 5:19-21. The ceasing from physical labor on that day was an outward object-lesson of the ceasing from sin, which must be done fully before the day of atonement is over; then it will be indeed a sabbath of rest to our souls.

4. We find from these verses that it is necessary that heavenly things should be purified; and that, as the high priest in the earthly sanctuary entered in every year with the blood of others to cleanse it, so our High Priest, with His own blood (verse 12), enters in once, "in the end of the world, to put away sin, or cleanse the sanctuary, by the blood of the sacrifice which had already been made on the cross when He gave Himself for our sins.